It really is an unfortunate, delicate balance at the moment. And perhaps the worst part is that while we’d all like to know the answer to the Kemp question right away, it’s probably going to take months — if not years — to get the full perspective on what his future holds.

The recent history (since 2007) of non-knuckleballers throwing the knuckleball is very short. Eddie Bonine used the pitch the most when he worked it into his repertoire with the Tigers (232 Times), Ryan Franklin sparingly used one in relief with the Cardinals (26 Times), Manny Parra of the Brewers “fooled around” with a knuckler seven times (an even rarer lefty knuckler), and Livan Hernandez threw it once with the Mets (because of course he did).

Due to all the shuffling that went into making Dodgers Digest happen before the 2014 season began, starting up my prospects content was actually a rather last-minute decision. I used to do extensive prospect coverage as far back as 2008, but simply began to run out of time to do everything I wanted consistently. True, I probably could have just thrown together whatever and called it a day, but whether I end up right or wrong, I do actually put quite a bit of effort into my work. Fortunately, due to this site having multiple authors, I was able to find the time to work on the prospect side of things again, and while it’s a bit late, I’m just happy to be back at it.

The expectations in some quarters is that Puig will be able to build on his 2013, and that’s exactly why he’s considered overrated to many, because it’s unrealistic to expect that out of him. Personally, all I really want from him is something I would label a “consolidation year”, where he regresses a bit due to unsustainable BABIP but shows signs of combining his skills into a sustainable foundation that he can build with in the future.

Blame the fans for “having blinders on” all you want, but if the fans have them on, then it’s because certain media members have essentially rendered all of their Puig reports/articles/opinions moot by, ironically, “crying wolf” about him too often.

A busier month for me than January, but I was set back a bit by illness. Fortunately, I still managed to write about Hyun Jin Ryu‘s sophomore campaign, extending Hanley Ramirez, two Spring Training position previews, started a mailbag (yes, really), and made a GIF.

With Clayton Kershaw now locked up, the only main cog left unattended to is Ramirez, who becomes a free agent after the season. And make no mistake, despite Hanley’s performance struggles in previous years and concerns about injuries, he remains an elite talent.

Without Masahiro Tanaka in the fold, and with the fifth starter role still up in the air, Hyun Jin Ryu‘s ability to be consistent as the Dodgers‘ #3 starter becomes all the more important to the quality and depth of the 2014 starting rotation. Since his performance will be key this year, Mark Saxon of ESPN Los Angeles wondered if the team should worry that Ryu is due for a sophomore slump.

In all our collective wisdom here at Dodgers Digest, I don’t believe any of us have ever tried a mailbag that simply answers your questions, probably because you’re all so frightening and intimidating. Fortunately, with all our powers combined, we were able to summon the courage to answer all your questions (sort of).

In the same vein as other positions done thus far, the Dodgers don’t have a ton of depth at third base. This is both because of a lack of action in the utility infielder market during the off-season and because the Dodgers have basically no minor-league depth at the position to speak of.

As for the main guys, Matt Kemp‘s value to this roster depends completely on his health. While some are actively worrying about the fact that he won’t be playing in Australia, it’s a sigh of relief for me. What he needs is to start a year confident in his health instead of constantly forcing himself to play injured and then acting surprised/angry when he aggravates something. Last off-season, he fooled me with the BS rhetoric about his shoulder being okay and that he just needed to play rust off, so I’m glad that he’s taking it slow this time around.

Was a bit of a slow month for me in January as I continue to research/compile my Prospect Profiles, but I managed to tackle the utility infielder issue for the Dodgers and continued my Clutchitude series.

As Dodgers fans wait for the second-by-second updates on Masahiro Tanaka Decision 2014, I’m turning our collective attention to a role that could be just as valuable: the utility infielders. Or, the current lack of them.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve said previously that I’d love to snag Tanaka, and he would indeed be an exciting impact acquisition for the team. But he’s still a luxury, because the Dodger rotation projects just fine without him. The same can be said for every other position except second base, but even the questions there tie-in with the utility infielder issue.

No matter what moves are made going forward, the Dodgers are a quality team on paper, and the infield is no different, with Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez, and Juan Uribe all anchored at their positions. But with second base still up in the air, A-Gon aging and having dealt with nagging injuries in 2013, Hanley missing extensive time last year, and Uribe likely requiring regular rest, the utility infielders become increasingly important.

Sports fans love to talk about clutch plays and clutch players, and fans of baseball and the Dodgers are no exception. But within those discussions, there tends to be a lack of evidence presented. As such, I decided to find some basis for clutch plays and clutch players, courtesy of the WPA and Clutch statistics.

But that’s a good thing, because starting Monday I’ll be teaming up with Mike Petriello (Mike Scioscia’s Tragic Illness), Dustin Nosler (Feelin’ Kinda Blue), and Daniel Brim (Blog To The Score) over at our new site, Dodgers Digest.

Yes, a new site. And while I’m nervous about the change, I think it’s going to be awesome.

I’ve been blogging about the Dodgers for a long time, and I’ve gone through many different site names and formats, but this is easily the one I’m most looking forward to, primarily because of the quality people I’ll be working with. For years, we’ve been spending a lot of time dedicated to covering the same Dodgers material and stories with generally minimal disagreement or deviation, but with our new format, not only will the coverage be more comprehensive, but we’ll each have more time to focus on what we do best. Look forward to better analysis, better prospect coverage, and faster news reporting.

So what changes here? Well, everything. I’ll still be posting recaps of the work I do elsewhere, and perhaps I’ll be writing about things that interest me that aren’t relevant to the new site, but my Dodgers coverage will almost exclusively be happening at Dodgers Digest from here on out. So check in every now and then, but the majority of my work will now be at Dodgers Digest.

Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank everybody who has written for me (especially Dustin and Greg Zakwin) or followed me over the years. You’re the reason I’ve been able to go from writing for a handful of readers to where I am now, and you’re the reason I can make this leap to something that’s bigger and better.

A couple weeks ago, I got the chance to talk with Corey Seager before batting practice during his time in the Arizona Fall League.

Seager provided a lot of stock answers — which is probably for the best — but did open up a bit about expectations, adjustments, his relationship with his brother (Kyle Seager), the organization’s hitting philosophy, and the speculation about him changing positions.

—–

“What have you been able to take away from your experience in the Arizona Fall League so far?”

You get to watch everybody here with more experience. You get to watch them go about their business and learn how to do everything the way they do it. How to prepare yourself daily, deal with emotions, and just get ready.

“How fatigued are you after your first full season of professional ball and now playing in the Arizona Fall League?”

Yeah, it’s a grind for sure. I’ve never played this long consistently, but it’s a learning curve just trying to figure out how to get through it and play hard everyday. It’s pretty crazy, and it’s definitely tiring, but you have to find a way to get through it.

“What have been the adjustments you’ve had to make as you’ve moved through the levels?”

I have to have a better plan at the plate. They make less mistakes up here and throw everything for strikes. They pretty much throw whatever they want to in all situations, so you have to have a better all-around approach and not just swing at what they want you to swing at.

“As one of the team’s top prospects, how difficult is it to deal with the expectations?”

I don’t really pay much attention to all that stuff. I choose to stay out of it and I don’t think about it, so I don’t really put much pressure on myself. I just go out there and play everyday and let people say what they’re going to say. I’m just focused on getting better.

“How is your brother helping you deal with being a professional?”

He has for sure helped a lot. I talk to him every night and he’s already gone through everything I’ve gone through, so it’s a really good person to be able to have.

“As far as preparations and…”

Yeah, just what to expect, so it’s less of an adjustment.

“Since you’ve played at a bunch of different levels in the organization, is there any consistent hitting philosophy that the Dodger coaches have tried to instill?”

They’re not telling you that you have to do this or have to do that. Every hitting coach is pretty good, they see what you can do and they don’t want to change it. So if they think they can help you, they offer it, but it’s not like they’re putting pressure on you to do anything. It’s a really good working relationship.

“Is the advice they give more approach-based or mechanical help?”

Personally, for me, it’s not much mechanical, it’s approach. But yeah, every once in a while you’ll get off your swing path and they’ll help you mechanically too.

“How in-depth is the usage of video within the organization at the minor-league level?”

We have video, and I’m sure it’s nothing like what they have in the big leagues, but I watch myself every once in a while. You can ask to have it yourself, but most of the time coaches are in there with you and guiding you through it.

“I’m sure you’re tired of addressing this by now, but do you feel your future position is at short or do you think you’ll end up at third as you mature?”

I love playing shortstop, and they told me for now that I’m at short until I get moved off it or somebody plays me off it. My goal is to be playing shortstop, definitely.

—–

Thanks to Corey Seager.

Worth noting that I tried to get Yimi Garcia and Pedro Baez, but unlike last year, we couldn’t find a capable and willing Spanish translator.

I think I did this like a week ago, but I figured I should make an announcement anyway just to let everybody know.

So basically, I’ve moved off shared hosting. Therefore, stuff like the site crashing for two days because lots of people wanted to read my articles won’t happen … hypothetically.

Also, unless you haven’t visited the site in like a week now, I’ve done away with the default commenting and installed Disqus, which I know a lot of people use already. More people wanted to comment but were too lazy to register on the site, so I figured this would be beneficial. Hopefully the trolling and spamming will be kept to a minimum, as that was a concern.

Plus, instead of having to go through all the trouble of actually e-mailing me, you can now use the form in the ‘Contact’ page at the top of the site. Yay?

Anyway, all the changes don’t affect anything we do here, though it should be a positive on your reading/viewing experience.

I looked at the draft this year and you kind of had a more college-focused approach this year. Is there any reason for that?

Logan White: I’ve always said that we try to take the best available player. I think when you go back years ago, a lot of teams were focusing in on solely college players, which did leave a lot of high school players in the past like in 2002 and (2003) when we took a lot of high school players that played in the big leagues. And I think now, the approach has been a little bit different. I think you’re seeing a lot more teams that didn’t take high school players at all taking high school players. Also, it depends where you’re picking in the draft; where you fall, which one gets to you. Would you take the high school player/pitcher or the college player/pitcher? It just depends on what’s there and what’s available. And this year, it just felt to us there were a lot of college players. I felt the high school draft, the way it felt to us, just wasn’t as strong as I’ve seen it in certain years.

-

Was Chris Anderson the top player on your board?

Yeah, he was one of our top guys.

-

Would you be willing to disclose who else may have been in consideration for No. 18?

You know, I really wouldn’t, just because other teams — who they took and how it affects them — I don’t ever want to say whether I like somebody’s pick or not. I always try to be respectful to my peers. So, I probably wouldn’t go that far. I can tell you Chris Anderson was one of the top guys on our board. In other words, if we had been picking sixth, we would have taken Anderson.

-

How was it to get Corey Seager last year?

Like I said, I’ve always been “try to take the best available player.” We were sweating that out. We weren’t sure he would get to us or not just as we were with Anderson this year. So, the last two years, I wasn’t sure the pick was going to get to us. But, I was doing cartwheels when Corey got to us because we had done a lot of work on him in the previous summer — seeing him and then going to that spring — we just felt, of all the players — high school, college, regardless — he had one of the best bats in the draft.

-

Are there any plans to promote Seager this season or will he finish the year in Low-A?

DeJon (Watson) and I have a good relationship and we work well together and stuff. We’re going to look at it — whether we move him or not. Our main focus is just to make sure he has a good first season and we’re not in any hurry. But, once we feel the player has achieved a certain level of success, we’re not afraid to move him.

-

Do you think he sticks at shortstop long-term?

You know what, I do. That’s why I drafted him there. Now, it’s kind of like “pick your poison.” Is he going to be a flashy, lateral, crazy-range guy with flash and flair? No, that’s not his style. But he has great hands and he’s going to catch what he gets to. He has a unique sense of timing. He’s a really smart guy, has a real awareness on the field. I think he’s going to be a really steady player and I think managers in the big leagues love having a guy who, when it’s hit to him, they know it’s an out. And that’s the guy he’ll be. Now, obviously, you’d have to have a crystal ball to know. If somehow we ended with an Omar Vizquel in the organization, yeah, then you would consider maybe moving Corey. At this time, I think Corey — I think we all feel — Corey can play shortstop and is gonna stay at shortstop.

-

I assume he’ll start with Rancho (Cucamonga) next year?

That may or may not happen. It just depends how far he progresses this year. He has the ability to move pretty quick.

-

So, maybe an outside shot at Chattanooga?

If he busts his tail, continues to progress — Rancho or Chatt — either one is a possibility.

-

Are there any prospects who caught your eye who aren’t widely known by the public?

There’s always guys like that. Last year, I did a thing for Baseball Prospectus. They were talking to me about — we had signed (Yasiel) Puig and everything else — and I told them, at the time — I gotta tell you about a guy that we signed on this trip named (Julio) Urias. I told people right after we signed him. There’s guys like that. There’s a player people don’t know much about yet. There’s a kid named (Jacob) Scavuzzo, high school player. (Joey) Curletta, some people know about. Those kids are going to come on and be pretty good players. They were high school signs, down-the-line signs, kind of in the (Scott) Van Slyke mold. They make take a little while, but I think Scavuzzo certainly opened up a lot of eyes because he’s a really good athlete and can do some things. He’s a guy that you’re going to see and go, “wow.” Everybody now sees that (Ross) Stripling — we’ve been telling people when we took him, Stripling is really good. And Stripling is definitely on the radar, he’s not far away in my opinion. He’s got a chance to pitch in the big leagues fairly soon because he’s got four pitches and knows how to compete, pitch. There’s also a kid named (Victor) Gonzalez that’s in Rookie-ball. We signed out of that same group (when) we saw Urias. He’s just 17, he’s left-handed and he’s got a chance to be pretty good down the road.

-

How impressed are you with Urias so far?

You know what, I’m gonna tell ya, I’m not as impressed at what he’s doing in the Midwest League as when I went and saw him in Mexico. I’m seeing a 15-year-old kid throw 90-93 (MPH) with a great delivery. That’s when I was really impressed. I’m going, “Oh my gosh.” I’ve never seen this in my years. A kid with that good arm action and delivery — so, I was really impressed at that moment. That’s why I mentioned him to people before he ever pitched a day in the states with us. Yeah, I’m impressed by it, but I know DeJon and I talked a lot about what we should do because he’s so young. But we were like, “You know what, we don’t want to hold him back. He’s got the ability, we’ll watch his innings and let’s send him in the Midwest League.” What I am impressed with is his English. He’s learning English really well, he’s fit in with the older kids and everything else. If you’re around him, certainly his mentality is a little advanced. He’d be a sophomore in high school.

He’s gained a lot of weight. He’s gotten a lot more physical, a little bit heavier since we signed him. I don’t know exactly how much he’s gained, but he’s gained quite a bit.

-

What’s the plan for Urias for next season? How will his workload increase?

It’ll be an incremental increase. We haven’t decided what that number will be, but it certainly won’t be 180 (innings).

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Do you think there’s a chance he pitches in the majors before he turns 20?

Yes, absolutely I do for sure. I think that if he stays on the right track, stays healthy — and you hate putting those things on people because of the injury factor and too many things can happen in life — but I do think that the path he’s on, the stuff he has that, can he reach the major leagues before he’s 20 or by age 20? Yes.

-

How has the new Collective Bargaining Agreement made your job different?

It really hasn’t been that big a deal for us because since I’ve been here awhile, I’ve done it awhile, so I’ve got some experience at it. We were always working under the slot system, so to speak, anyway. So, I’m always cognizant of signability and who would sign, not sign and where we were at, and my scouts always did a great job of knowing who would sign and not sign. In my tenure here, we’ve had two guys, really — (Luke) Hochevar and a kid named (Cory) Van Allen in the third round — who haven’t signed. Outside of that, we’ve signed everyone. For us, it really wasn’t that big of a shift. For us, it was actually a welcome thing. I’m glad about it because I think it shifts back to good scouting, because now teams can’t just go out and put a lot of money on a guy and sign him. Having to be under this quasi-semi-slot system — slot system that wasn’t there but it was kinda where you couldn’t do it — it’s definitely a disadvantage. We took David Price and other guys out of high school when we really couldn’t do much. I mean, I’d have liked to have gone over slot on those kinds of guys. Obviously with our new ownership group and everything, sure. Would I love to have the free market the way it used to be? Yeah. But, I’ll take it the way it is. I think it’s worked out good, I think it’s part of the strategy. You have to be able to look at it, maximize your things and know what picks you’re going to take where and who you’re going to spend some money on. I get a kick out of it. I think people get worried because we’re getting close. “Oh my God, they’re going to lose their pick.” It ain’t gonna happen. Ain’t gonna happen.

Just to be funny — it’s not my money, so I would try to be as judicial with it as I can — but to be funny, I would have went right up to the dollar just so everybody could see. We have it down. I’m in the room (with) my staff. I mean, I keep track of it. As soon as I take the pick, I know what I gotta do where. The key to that is you have to take seniors that you know are going to sign. If you take a senior and he or the agent decides to be a little haywire on ya, then you can’t use their money — the money you were saving on that senior and that pick. That’s the part you gotta know.

—–

White would go on to say off mic, but not off the record, a player from the 2013 draft class to keep an eye on is MJ Villegas, 23rd-rounder out of Seton Catholic High School in Arizona. Fun fact: White’s son, Logan Jr., will attend this high school starting next year (H/T Chris Jackson).

“When I got to Boston, my stance was more open. I’m trying to get back to being more square to the pitcher, and my batting stance isn’t as wide. Those are two of the little things I’m trying to focus on.”

On Going The Other Way

“Batting more square, more closed, instead of being more open. When I’m open the ball away looks far away, so I’m trying to get more square so everything looks closer to me.”

My hopes that he would carry on with his 2012 adjustment seems valid, as he appears to acknowledge that it’s something he could benefit from. Now all that’s left is to see whether he can stay healthy enough to implement it and whether or not he can stick to the plan.

So what impact did the stance shenanigans have? Among other things, it made him unable to get to the outside pitch. Using the Baseball Prospectus heat maps, we can see that when Crawford was having his career year in 2010, with his stance slowly opening up, he was quite good at getting to pitches on the outside part of the plate. In 2011, fully open, he had absolutely no prayer. (And, it should be noted, even in September of 2010 he was beginning to have trouble getting to outside pitches.)

This is a cool finding because it expands on my point that he was struggling with hard stuff due to his timing errors. So now we have another specific thing to watch, which is his plate coverage.

In the end, a major-league player confirmed that I am an absolute genius…

…or maybe that he’s just trying to go back to the last time he was successful.

I had the opportunity to speak with Chris Reed before his Nov. 8 Arizona Fall League game.

Edited for sanity, because nobody wants to read “uh” and “um” and laughs and transitions and crap.

—–

Pitching in the AFL is always difficult, so are you making any conscious adjustments to that or is it just specifically working on things beyond results?

“Yeah, we’re working on a few things. Working both sides of the plate and throwing off-speed in fastball counts. And I’d say adjusting to the hitters too because that’s who you’re going to be facing in the future.

Is there a mental aspect to that due to the increased competition or the hitter’s environment there in Arizona?

“Guys are looking for fastballs here, so you have to throw off-speed in fastball counts, and you have to be consistent with the fastball. Also, taking a mental approach where you have to pound the zone and make them hit it, hopefully right at somebody.”

As far as adjustments go, were there any mechanical or mental things that the Dodgers have made with you or wanted out of you?

“Yeah, I made a few mechanical adjustments. We’re trying to work them out because we didn’t want to make them in-season, so I’m working on that here. It’s more about repertoire and facing hitters here, but yeah, a few mechanical adjustments.”

You talked about pitch selection and what not, so as far as that’s concerned, what pitch do you have the most confidence in and what pitch needs improvement going forward?

“I’m most confident in my two-seam fastball, that has been my go-to pitch, both inside and outside. It’s been my best pitch and my best command, but also, I’ve been working on getting my slider back, so when I have that, I’m most confident in using that in two-strike situations or even like getting ahead of lefties. I like to use that pitch. In terms of what pitch I need to work on the most, it’s my change-up, but I felt I came a long way with that here so I feel I can use that next season as well.”

As far as your change-up goes, do the Dodgers have an organizational philosophy to teach that or is that more of your own work?

“We’re working with individual coaches that throw similar to you or have an idea of what you’re going through, so I’ve been working with Matt Herges here in terms of putting more pressure on the inside of my middle finger and the circle part of the change-up. So that’s what I’ve been working on, is just putting more pressure on the inside of the ball.”

—–

Chris Reed was great to talk with because he seemed conscious of what I wanted to know and even provided extra details to questions without me asking. I thought it was a pretty revealing conversation because I was personally interested to see what the Dodgers were having him do mechanically so I could look at it later.

The last question I asked was because I know readers here and commenters at True Blue LA have speculated that the Dodgers hate the change-up and don’t teach it, speculation primarily based on the lack of pitchers that use the pitch in the system. However, it seemed to me that if you do throw the pitch, they don’t mind and find coaches that can work with them. Maybe it’s a new switch in organizational philosophy? I dunno, but if they did have something against it before, it certainly didn’t seem like there was an organizational mandate on it now.

I had the opportunity to speak with Joc Pederson before his Nov. 8 Arizona Fall League game.

Edited for sanity, because nobody wants to read “uh” and “um” and laughs and transitions and crap.

—–

You admitted that you scuffled to start 2011, but that you made adjustments that helped shape your breakout in 2012, specifically what mechanical changes were implemented by the Dodgers or what did you do to change things up?

“There were a couple things I worked on, there were a couple things that we addressed, and I just tried to fine tune my movements that I was doing, and one of the hitting coaches I had in Ogden helped me with that.”

You mentioned that you looked at Carlos Gonzalez and those types, so was there anything specific in your swing or was it just balance or something of that nature?

“Yeah, I don’t think my swing has changed, it’s just the position I’m getting into. Like allowing my swing to work, and my body was not allowing my swing to work.”

You said that playing for Team Israel in the WBC was a great experience for you, but after full-season ball and then going to the WBC qualifiers, and now you’re in the AFL, has fatigue become a factor at all?

“I mean it’s a grind but I’m enjoying every day of it, and I’m learning as much as I can and taking it all in so that it’ll help me with my season next year and throughout my career.”

As far as your batting approach goes, the approach you take at the plate is often lauded as advanced, but is that something you’ve worked on over the years or is that an innate feel for hitting?

“I have an approach that Johnny Washington helped me with to stay through the middle and stay inside the ball. My approach changed when I got to Ogden. I didn’t really have an approach before, I just went out and was relying on my ability, but he helped me have a plan in going up to the plate and what not.”

Speaking of adjustments, do you anticipate having to make any adjustments as you move up to AA or even now in the AFL?

“Yeah, I’m just trying to keep it simple. Get a good pitch and put a good swing on it, and obviously it’s a game of adjustments, so guys are going to pitch you differently and guys are going to adjust, so you’re gonna have to adjust to the game and still put together a quality at-bat.”

Is it more like the speed of the game as you move up through the levels or it is more like the mental aspect?

“Yeah, I’m really focusing on the mental aspect of the game and controlling what I can control. So that’s the learning process, it won’t come overnight, so you just have to stay with it and eventually it’ll come.”

—–

Not sure if he didn’t want to talk about his hitting mechanics so specifically or if he didn’t know the specifics or if he assumed I wouldn’t understand, but I couldn’t get much out of that. He did talk a bunch about refining his approach at the plate and where he needed to be though.

I thought the comments about his mental adjustments were particularly interesting, because it seemed like the typical path of a guy who had all the physical tools but needed to refine them into baseball skills, and it’s probably beneficial that he learned the difference early on in the process rather than later when it might have been too late.

For what it’s worth, he came off as amicable and friendly.

]]>http://www.chadmoriyama.com/2012/11/interview-with-joc-pederson-mechanical-changes-mental-approach-and-fatigue/feed/0Interview With Onelki Garcia: His Status, His Bicep & Oblique Injuries, And All Of His Pitcheshttp://www.chadmoriyama.com/2012/11/interview-with-onelki-garcia-his-status-his-bicep-oblique-injuries-and-all-of-his-pitches/
http://www.chadmoriyama.com/2012/11/interview-with-onelki-garcia-his-status-his-bicep-oblique-injuries-and-all-of-his-pitches/#commentsMon, 12 Nov 2012 21:20:59 +0000http://www.chadmoriyama.com/?p=12550

Photo Credit: Hans Gutknecht of the Los Angeles Daily News.

I had the opportunity to speak with Onelki Garcia before his Nov. 8 Arizona Fall League game, a conversation that was translated by Rodney Linares, manager of the Mesa Solar Sox and a manager in the Houston Astros system.

Edited for sanity, because nobody wants to read “uh” and “um” and laughs and transitions and crap.

—–

After all the hardships he’s gone through to get to where he is now, has it affected the way he looks at or plays baseball?

“He said he feels really good even though he’s been through a lot, and that he’s happy and he’s a little impressed with the amount of talent of the players he’s playing with right now, but he’s learning and getting a lot of experience and he says he’s thankful for the opportunity.”

After the extended layoff and his oblique injury, does he have any concerns about durability or rust going into the 2013 season?

“He says that after he had the oblique he had a little bit of a bicep issue, but that he doesn’t envision that it’ll be anything that hampers him for next year. He’s been here in Arizona with the Dodgers and he’s been here working out. He says he still feels it a bit after pitching but he doesn’t envision it being a big problem for next year. He’s ready and happy to be here.”

He still feels the bicep or the oblique?

“Yeah, the bicep, he says he still feels it after he pitches, a little bit, but not before he pitches.”

Can he describe what pitches he throws?

“He says he has a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, sinker, a curve, which he uses a lot, and his change-up is developing. He says he doesn’t use it a lot but it’s coming along.”

—–

Short but informative, as I previously had no idea that he threw all those pitches. Perhaps most importantly though, people were unable to confirm previously why he wasn’t throwing in the AFL, but it turns out that he had both an oblique and bicep injury.

Overall, he seems like a good guy and is just genuinely excited to get back on the field. Also, Rodney Linares is awesome.

So if you hadn’t already noticed, there have been some changes around these here parts, but … uh … not much, really. Besides the look of the new layout, the primary reason I switched wasn’t because of aesthetics, but because the new layout is responsive, meaning the layout responds to whatever you’re using to browse the site.

Since most of the complaints about the site were regarding the fact that it was a pain to view on mobile/tablet … well … now you guys can shut it.

Yay, me!

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1) Site is now mobile/tablet/whatever friendly. By far the most requested thing.

2) Most views and most commented widgets on the sidebar for those who want to bandwagon jump.

3) You can now subscribe to whole comment threads instead of just when you’re responded to. Another request fulfilled. A man of the people.

—–

In reality though, you’re all victims, because now it’s easier for me to spew my verbal diarrhea at you.

If the new layout doesn’t work for you on mobile/tablet, let me know, because I’m going to be madder than when Don Mattingly bunts with nobody out and a runner at second. Those of you who follow me on Twitter understand.

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Seriously though, go find us on all the social media stuff too. If you don’t, you hate America.

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Dustin is a journalism major at Sacramento State University (graduating like … tomorrow or something) and is the current Editor-In-Chief of the student newspaper, so you know he’s like awesome and stuff.

Since July of 2009, he has been writing his own blog at Feelin’ Kinda Blue, and he will continue to do so going forward. However, he’ll also be contributing to this site as well, hopefully quite a bit.

I’m excited to have him on board, as I think he’ll contribute a great deal to the quality of the content here.

His debut article should be posted today if I stop being lazy, so look forward to that and much more.

While a new era in Dodgers history has begun, the current roster is still stuck in the previous era, arguably surrounding the prime talent with even worse veterans than last year. Any hopes of making a run at either the division or the playoffs revolves around the team making a gigantic splash in trades or career years from 3-4 players.

Given that a compilation of projection systems has the Dodgers going 77-85, finishing fourth, and PECOTA has the Dodgers going 78-84, finishing fifth, I don’t think my view is out of line. I believe the Dodgers are better than their projections though, with Andre Ethier having a better year to make up for Matt Kemp’s inevitable regression, a strong bullpen with depth (unnecessarily deep), and Nathan Eovaldi and Rubby De La Rosa (down the stretch) to help out with the rotation.

While I suppose there’s always hope in what is still a weak division, the future seasons are where the light at the end of the tunnel lies.

When I submitted my prediction, I actually thought I was being a bit generous with the .500 mark, as I put them there despite the fact that every projection system has the Dodgers going down like the Hindenburg.

To my surprise though, the overwhelming consensus among the contributors was that the team would finish in the mid-80s to high-80s in the win column, with half of them predicting the playoffs and nobody predicting a finish lower than 2nd.

Exploring further, the sentiment among the commenters was that of agreement with the contributors, and more than a few even went as far as predicting over 90 wins. Now to be fair, two statistically minded commenters did provide a bit of realism. Andrew Grant, who formerly ran True Blue LA, had the Dodgers at 79-83, while Xeifrank of Dodger Sims put the team at 80-82. As for most everybody else, I’ll just say that comments don’t generally bother me when I read them on mainstream sites or message boards, but I consider the True Blue LA crowd to be generally intelligent, so if they are solidly optimistic about 2012, then I can’t imagine how high the casual fan must be (*snicker*).

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Don’t get me wrong, it’s perfectly fine to have optimistic predictions because you want things to end up a certain way. However, it concerns me that the expectations seem to clash harshly with the reality of the odds, as the mixture seems to point directly to a huge letdown this year.

While I hope the Dodgers win it all in 2012, I expect to see something that resembles a .500 team, and I hope you do too.

The name might not immediately ring a bell, but most of you know him as the Dodgers minor leaguer who runs the entertaining and insightful Dear Tommy John Letters blog.

In the interview, Brian dishes about dealing with major injuries, the minor league environment, reading Dodger blogs, and gives lots of other random insights.

The interview is rather long, but I think it’s well worth the read.

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I guess a good place to start would be to inquire about how your recovery from Tommy John surgery is coming along. Also, where do you expect to be playing in the organization, and what are your expectations?

Wow, it took a great deal of self-restraint to not respond with a graphical illustration of my recovery. I will say that had I drawn a graph, there would be a high level of variance but the trend line would indicate a successful surgery. With injuries, I guess I always thought that you just gradually got better until one day, you woke up and you were back at 100%. My recovery was definitely not like that. Some days, even early on, my arm would feel great – like I was ready to compete. Other days I felt like I would be better off trying to throw left-handed. In hindsight, I may have entered into games a bit prematurely last year but I think it was good for me – I have no regrets. Now, 18 months removed, I feel totally normal and am ready to be evaluated that way.

As for where I’ll be this season, I really can’t speculate. We’re always reminded that “it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish” (especially when we’re being told that we’re going to have to repeat a level). I’m prepared for anything and I’m just excited to compete for a job.

In one of the entries on your blog, you mentioned that while you were surprised by the amount of positive experiences you’ve had with minor league teammates, there were specific instances where strife frequently occurred, like with the bitter veterans who didn’t want kids reading Baseball America type publications. What were some other causes of clubhouse strife? Were there any other types of players you noticed who would constantly rub you or others the wrong way?

Unrelated to that question, how helpful has minor league coaching been to you? There is a sense among fans that most of the real coaching occurs in the minor leagues, do you believe this to be the case? Have you noticed a different type of coach or coaching style as you’ve advanced levels?
Without a doubt, the number one catalyst for clubhouse strife would have to be the card games. I’m convinced that some players are more concerned about their win percentage in Spades than they are about their batting average.

In all honesty, I really haven’t witnessed many problems in the clubhouse. Sure, there have been a few quarrels, but for the most part we get along. On a scale of 1 – 10 measuring clubhouse togetherness, (1 being Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton brandishing weapons, and 10 being the team in ‘Remember The Titans’ rehearsing their choreographed pregame dance) the teams that I’ve been a part of would probably operate at about a 7. It doesn’t make for a very exciting answer to your question, but it’s the truth. I know that resentment among players exists, but the feelings usually don’t result in anything that I would characterize as strife.

The coaches that the Dodgers have in place at the minor league level are tremendous. From top to bottom. It really is a surreal moment in spring training when Dejon Watson introduces the staff. The success that some of these guys have had at the major league level is astounding. When you’re joking around with Charlie Hough in the stretching lines, it’s easy to forget that he won over 200 big league games. Then when he throws you a knuckleball during warm-ups, you are quickly reminded of how he acheived that feat. Outsiders might think that these guys are hired because of their names and their playing careers, but they are all truly great coaches. It is invaluable to have a mentor that has been through your same problems and come out on top.

The coaching style does change a bit as you move through the system. At the lower levels, coaches tend to come to you with advice, and at the higher levels, the players typically seek out the coaches for advice. I guess the assumption is that by the time you get to the AA and AAA levels, you have a pretty good handle on your delivery. That’s not to say that the help isn’t available at any level, there just seems to be a different etiquette as you move along.

I would have never known that about card games. I always thought those two fighting over cards was one of the most ridiculous things i’ve ever heard.

Anyway, in your career, you have advanced as far as AAA. How frustrating was it to get so close to the majors only to be setback by a significant injury? You mentioned before that you’ve had doubts like any minor league player would, how advanced did those doubts get?

As far as your injury is concerned, many who go through the surgery say that their velocity commonly bounces back, but fine control is usually the last thing to return, is that what you have experienced thus far? Were you able to pinpoint any mechanical reason for your arm troubles, or do you believe it was just a matter of typical attrition that occurs?

This may sound strange, but the news of my injury was actually kind of a relief. At the time, I was in AAA but I was pitching horribly. Technically it was the closest I had ever been to the big leagues, but I had never felt so far away.

Mechanically, I felt like I was all over the place. To borrow a phrase from Roy McAvoy, my delivery felt “like an unfolding lawnchair”. I can’t pinpoint when it started, but the last time I remember feeling right was in spring training. I was never pitching in pain, I just felt like something was off. It felt like I had to put forth way too much effort to sustain my normal velocity. What made it particularly tough though, was the fact that I didn’t look much different in any of the videos I watched. And I watched a ton of video. I can probably recite every pitch sequence that I had filmed that year. This is when the doubt really began to set in. I had certainly struggled at different points in my career, but never this badly. One of my strong suits has always been the ability to figure out what was causing me to struggle, but at this point, I really had no idea.

Any pitcher that has a reputation for being smart has heard “it looks like you’re thinking too much out there”. That was easily the most common advice that I received from those trying to help me. After a while, I began to wonder if maybe they were right, if maybe the problem was mental. Just considering this was devastating to me. If I never make it to the big leagues, I’ll be extremely disappointed, but I’ll get over it. After all, it’s not an easy thing to accomplish. But if I didn’t make it and I thought that it was because I was weak-minded – I’m not sure how I would deal with that. That’s where I felt like I was heading and it was hard. I was starting to think that it was turning into something that would haunt me the rest of my life. Writing this now, it sounds so melodramatic, but at the time it was all I could think about.

Then I started to notice something… I couldn’t straighten my arm. It had felt stiff between outings, but I still didn’t have anything that I’d describe as pain. Now though, I was actually losing range of motion. I decided to show our trainer and he recommended an MRI. He and the doctor agreed that I probably had developed some bone spurs. About a week later, the results showed that I did indeed have some spurs, but my UCL was also torn. I was shocked, but strangely relieved.

Not to harp on the negative feelings one might go through in the minor leagues, but have you ever considered quitting, or have you ever lost faith in your career path? Have you seen teammates have to make that decision? If so, what do you think influences somebody like Justin Orenduff (mid-20s, relatively close to the majors) to retire, but guys like Mitch Jones (early-30s, career minor leaguer, eventually made it) to push on?

On a lighter note, i’ve realized by reading your site that you’re into the statistical aspect of the game. Has sabermetrics helped your approach to pitching in anyway? If so, how? And how many teammates do you believe actually care or understand how players are valued in today’s market? Like do you think there’s been a premium placed on plate discipline instead of being free swinging to maintain a batting average?

During the worst of it, just before finding out I needed surgery, I did consider quitting as an option. I know the opportunity cost of bouncing around in the minor leagues all too well (it would be awesome if I could pick up a tab for my successful banker/lawyer/doctor friends every once and a while). But for me to actually quit, I would have to know that I wasn’t good enough to pitch in the big leagues. In 2008, I knew that this was the case – what I didn’t know was that I was pitching without a functioning UCL.

To quit anything that you are passionate about without regret, I think you have to come to the realization that your best efforts are not going to be enough. I’ve seen several close friends make this tough decision and I think that all of them had this realization at some point. Pushing on (as in the case of Mitch Jones) is just a product of still believing in your ability. And if you ever see Mitch hit during one of his hot streaks, he will make you a believer as well.

I’ve always been into statistics, but I can’t really say that they have influenced my approach to pitching very much. Most of the metrics for pitchers are pretty intuitive (such as the focus on BBs, Ks, and HRs) so learning them didn’t really change anything for me. With hitting, I could definitely see how a knowledge of sabermetrics could be beneficial. I have seven career at-bats and have not yet drawn a walk, even though I’m fully aware of the importance of OBP. I think that this has less to do with me being a free-swinger, and more to do with me being a really bad-swinger.

So I know that you’ve mentioned to me in the past that you do read certain Dodger blogs, and I was wondering what you thought of us, or just the medium, in general. Is it awkward to hear outsiders give their opinion on an organization that you are a part of?

I subscribe to several Dodger blogs and I really enjoy reading them. More often than not, I’m impressed by how well the writers use their resources to make accurate predictions about the players. The posts that I really enjoy are those that are informative, but also hint at how passionate the writer is about their team. Even if that means being angry with them from time to time… but not all the time. There are way too many bitter sports bloggers out there. Sometimes I think that, deep down, those guys want their team(s) to lose so that they have something to complain about. It’s like they aren’t happy unless they’re miserable. (I realize that makes no sense whatsoever, but I’m sticking with it.)

The only time I’ve ever felt uncomfortable reading an opinion was when that opinion involved Jason Schmidt. I understand why fans were unhappy with his production, but that guy worked his tail off every day to try and make good on his contract – even when it was clear that he wasn’t going to be able to. He could have easily shut it down and collected pay checks at home, but he’s not that kind of guy. Instead, he came to Camelback Ranch every morning and went through all of the monotonous drills and all of the conditioning in the 115 degree heat. It was Jason Schmidt, 8 or 9 rehabbers (like me), and about 80 rookieballers fresh out of high school. I know people will read this and think, “that’s the least he could do given how much he was earning” – but that’s not my point. My point is that he didn’t have to do it, and the truth is, most guys in his position would not have done it.

Thanks, Brian. Understood on both points, and I think the people reading it will understand the sentiment as well.

Thanks again for agreeing to this, it was informative and interesting for me to get a player’s perspective on things, especially from a fellow blogger.

No problem, Chad. I enjoyed it.

—

It’s worth noting that this interview was conducted through e-mail. I feel that should be mentioned because some of the questions were long, and I didn’t want you guys to get the impression that I was just sitting there asking him a ten minute long question on the phone while he was on the other end contemplating why he ever agreed to do the interview in the first place.

I’ll just let you read the interview transcript for now, but I’ll give my thoughts on it afterwards.

What I’m saying is in bold, and the interview jumps around a lot, but that’s mainly because I suck.

—

How does the talent in the Arizona Fall League compare to what you saw at the AA level?

It’s about AA because when I saw the rosters I saw a lot of AA or AAA guys, or guys that got called up, so I would compare it to about AA.

Is the environment at the AFL relaxed and casual between players or have you noticed a lot of competition between prospects?

It’s both casual and competitive. It’s not laid back or anything, but it’s like a big showcase like in high school or something.

I noticed that you just finished a game in which there were about 40 runs scored, do you believe that’s a reflection of the conditions up there?

No, I just think there’s a lot of good hitters in the game today. Just good players, basically.

I saw you play back in 2007 or so, and while you had tools to succeed, the performance never seemed to pan out as well as it it in 2009. Was there anything in particular that sparked the change in results?

I just made some adjustments. This year I just wanted to put out the full potential of what I can do. You know, I can run and hit, and I got a little bit of power, and this year I just wanted to put it all together.

I picked up a bigger bat and I really worked on my fear of getting caught baserunning. I think this year I didn’t have that fear.

On that note, I know there’s a lot of people that focus on, or are worried about, your stealing percentage, but in the minor leagues it seems like it’s more of a learning process than anything. Was it that way for you this past year, or is it just something you need to work on going forward?

I had the green light and every time I got caught I learned something new. I got caught 20 times this year and I learned something new every time. They gave me the green light to see if I could get better jumps, and especially stuff like running off of slide steps. Comparing the year before and this year, it was just like “don’t hold nothing back”.

Was it about running as much as possible to get used to it?

It was a learning process, but at the same time, I think I did well under the circumstances.

Addressing the change to the bigger bat, a concern is that the strikeouts will carryover to the advanced pitching in AA. Is that something we should be concerned about as fans, or are you confident that it won’t be an issue?

I would not put it on the big bat. I’ve been striking out for a while, and i’ve been striking out anyway, but when I got to AA, my strikeout to walk ratio actually got a little better. To me, I struck out 147 times, but it really didn’t register in my head until the end of the season. To me, a strikeout is like a line out, a pop out, a rollover, it doesn’t really matter to me.

Right, one out is one out regardless of how it comes.

Yeah. I mean, i’m not looking at no 10 for 10 in strikeouts, like strikeout-strikeout-strikeout, but one thing I tried to learn this year is to turn the page.

Is that a change in mentality or approach?

Oh yeah, even with a home run, you have to come up with another at-bat. There’s time I had 3 strikeouts and the winning run is on second base, so I gotta focus on that at-bat. I can’t care about the 3 strikeouts before and what it means. The more negative thoughts you have, the more it’s gonna come up negative.

Does that change reflect on your consistency? In another interview, you said that “consistency moves you up through the minor league levels”, so how have you tried to become more consistent?

It’s daily routines and approach, that’s what I think personally. I didn’t think so much about consistency in at-bats, but like game plan, what type of player you want to be, and not letting results change who you are.

Both on and off the field?

Yeah.

Later in the season, the Dodgers rewarded your performance by moving you up to AA. A lot of people view that league as a true test of a prospect because a lot of guys jump from that league to the majors.

That league is pretty good man (laughing).

Right, and you seemed relatively unfazed by any perceived gap in talent, but did you notice any significant differences between high-A and AA?

As far as talent, nah, not really I don’t think. There’s a lot of big names but not necessarily more talent. I would think the biggest difference is that the guys are smarter.

So the difference is more in the approach than being more talented players? Is it because they’re older?

Yeah, they’re older, and I thought about that too when I got to the locker room and a lot of guys were like 28 or 29. They know because they’ve been around the game a while.

On a random note, some people, including me, wanted to know if you’re faster than Devaris (Dee) Gordon.

(Laughs) Man, that’s one of my best friends, I don’t know. If you look at me and him, i’m twice his size (laughing). I don’t know, i’m a real big supporter of Dee, and I like the way he plays and works hard. I’m like his fan, so i’m gonna choose him.

So you guys aren’t gonna set up a race anytime soon in Spring Training or something?

After your breakout year, you’re having a lot more attention being paid to you. Do you read what people say about you in print or on the internet?

I got my agent who tells me stuff, but I try not to pay attention because a lot of that stuff is negative. To be honest, I haven’t even looked at a computer in a while. They all talking about my temper and some stuff I can’t be worried about.

Even in 2008, I had a pretty good year as a 20-year-old in high-A, had no clue in my second year switch hitting, but I try not to think about stuff like that. Even my agent just said Baseball America said nothing good about me, so I can’t focus on that. I just gotta keep going.

You mentioned difficulty with switch hitting, so I was wondering whether that was something that came naturally or if it’s still a work in progress.

Not natural (laughs). I wasn’t forced to do it or nothing, and they gave me a choice to stop. I look back on it and I can probably say that I probably wanted to stop switch hitting at least 10 times.

Are you glad you stuck with it?

Yeah, because I got more power left-handed than right-handed (laughs).

People now have increased expectations of you, and some even want you to replace Manny Ramirez in 2011, does that kind of pressure affect you at all?

I don’t know. I mean, Manny Ramirez is a good player, and nobody should be saying that. I hope Dodgers fans wouldn’t want me to replace Manny Ramirez, but just be glad to have another Robinson in a Dodgers uniform (laughs).

I actually played with [Manny] when he came down to rehab, so that was fun, but to replace him is not something i’m thinking about (laughing). I’m just trying to get up there and play, you know? I’m just trying to get up there and be on a parade. I’m from [Los Angeles] so I want a parade.

People say a lot of things, but I just keep going. It seems like it’s more and more pressure each year. More and more challenges each year, but I try to stay the same.

I was pretty surprised that people were saying negative things about your makeup or whatever, because among Dodgers fans, there’s a pretty popular video circulating around of you beating up a gorilla mascot…

That was all fun man, thanks to Lake Elsinore Storm for letting that happen.

How did that come about? Because we all got a good laugh out of it.

The guys come into the dugout before the game and tell us what’s going on and gave us stuff to hit back with. So he comes into the dugout and everybody is whacking him, getting some pretty good hits on him, so he tries to leave the dugout. That’s when I ran out of the dugout, just ran out, and tripped him (laughing). After I tripped him running out of the dugout, they’ve been calling me the “Gorilla Killa” ever since.

As far as your teammates go, you obviously know a lot about them, but which pitcher in the organization would you least like to face?

Actually, he’s right next to me right now, Kenley Jansen, he just got turned into a pitcher, I would not like to face him (laughs).

Admittedly, I’m not yet a good interviewer, but it was a good experience. I also learned that transcribing an interview is a huge pain in the ass.

As far as Trayvon Robinson goes, he was great. Not only did he not seem to mind that he had to give an interview to some dumb site, he seemed genuinely happy to talk about stuff with me. He came off as a rather happy-go-lucky type of guy that was focused on reaching the major leagues.